


Core

by seki



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-16
Updated: 2013-11-15
Packaged: 2017-12-29 15:28:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1007033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seki/pseuds/seki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You can know a person inside-out. But maybe trust isn't as straightforward as knowing someone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Niou threw his bag in the corner and fell ungracefully into a heap on the sofa.

The flat was eerily quiet, he realised after a moment of wondering where his flatmate was. He craned his neck for a clearer view of the kitchen -- there was something unfamiliar pinned to the cupboard which almost certainly was another polite note from Yagyuu informing him that he'd be out late. Damn. Yagyuu could usually be persuaded to provide painkillers if Niou whined at him enough.

In his defense, Niou scrupulously checked the bathroom and the kitchen cabinets first, before venturing into Yagyuu's room.

Also in his defense, Yagyuu really should have hidden his stuff better. A drawer with a single-barrel lock? Niou had owned a set of lockpicks since middle school. He could have opened this one with his goddamned thumbnail. It was like Yagyuu didn't care about Niou's _standards_ any more.

The drawer Niou'd opened turned out to contain Yagyuu's stash. The expected porn magazines were on top (mostly involving very well-muscled guys, rather intriguingly). Underneath those were condoms and lube (which seemed optimistic, as Yagyuu'd never bought anyone home with him to Niou's knowledge), a vibrator (Niou firmly tried to ignore that), a bottle of some pills that Niou was pretty sure were uppers (who'd have thought) and various bits of cheap-looking jewellery. Niou dug around a bit, fascinated. And then there, under everything else, was a gun.

Niou's immediate thought was that the whole thing was some elaborate setup; he wouldn't put it past Yagyuu to rig something like this up as a rebuke for snooping. And that was working theory #1 right until he picked up the gun and felt how heavy it was; a replica gun this solid and realistic would have been more expensive than Yagyuu would have bothered with as a joke. Niou was pretty sure it was real -- it felt real, cold and metallic and _serious_. He stared at it, baffled.

How the hell would Yagyuu even have gotten hold of a gun?

There were even a few bullets loose in the bottom of the drawer, proper old-fashioned ones like he remembered seeing in tv shows. He lined them up idly on the top of the chest, then had a moment of vague panic about someone using these and his DNA being found on them. He wiped them quickly on Yagyuu's sheet before putting them back in the drawer; in fact, after a moment's thought, he wiped the gun too, placed it back in the drawer, carefully stacked the magazines on top and closed it.

There were some normal headache tablets on a shelf above the desk, he discovered after some further snooping; Niou took a few and went back to lie on the sofa and think.

Right. Well, Yagyuu had been pretty tightlipped about his private life since they'd started at their universities, even after they'd moved into this flat together. Niou had clicked about Yagyuu's sexuality and his coyness about it back in school, figured it wasn't really any of his business -- Yagyuu hadn't shown much inclination towards _Niou_ that way, after all, faintly insulting though that was -- but he'd assumed it explained most of Yagyuu's recent secretiveness. All the late nights, the occasional inexplicable sulks or random unassailable good moods. On the few nights Yagyuu didn't come home, Niou had assumed Yagyuu was getting laid, or not getting laid in some emotionally complicated way, or just trying to get laid and failing. And if Yagyuu didn't feel like telling him about it, Niou figured he could deal with 'not knowing'. After all, Niou'd never really explained to Yagyuu about his sex life either.

The gay stuff didn't explain a gun.

He was still brooding when Yagyuu returned, earlier than he usually did these days. Niou had turned on the television and was hunched on the sofa in front of it, not really seeing the shapes on-screen but needing the background noise to stop his own thoughts churning too much.

"Hey. Have you eaten yet?"

Niou glanced over at Yagyuu. He was taking off his coat. To all intents and purposes he looked like, well, like a medical student from a prosperous background, well-heeled and respectable and dammit not at all the sort of person to own a gun. But probably also not the sort of person to own a vibrator, or gay porn. Appearances meant nothing. Niou knew that, better than anyone.

"Nah, had a headache coming on, I couldn't face food earlier."

"I'm going to order in, if you want me to get you anything. It's my turn to cook, right?"

"Yeah. I could eat."

Yagyuu sat down in the seat next to Niou, and tossed him the stack of menus. "You pick somewhere."

Niou shuffled the flyers. "Mm. Oh, I went into your room to borrow some headache stuff, sorry."

He kept Yagyuu in his peripheral vision as he said it, but as far as he could tell Yagyuu didn't even twitch.

"Go see a real doctor sometime, will you? I can't keep funding your painkiller addiction."

"Yeah, yeah." He handed Yagyuu a flyer for a local ramen place. "Number 12, with chicken."

 _I looked in the wrong place_ , he tried inside his head. _Bit surprised by your taste in porn. And drugs. And hey, also weapons._

Yagyuu placed the order. As he hung up, Niou made a decision. He stretched exaggeratedly, and allowed himself to topple over sideways onto Yagyuu's lap. He turned and stared up into Yagyuu's startled face.

"Niou-kun?"

"I feel like I don't ever get to talk to you these days. You never tell me anything. How's your course going?"

"Pretty well. Too many assignments, of course. It'll be very good to move into actual medical studies next year."

"Cool."

"And yours?"

"Frustrating, mostly. And sometimes boring. It's okay, though. I just wish they'd stop trying to oversimplify everything."

They sank into silence for a while; Niou's head pillowed on Yagyuu's knee. Yagyuu's hand rested gently on his upper arm, and it felt nostalgic, innocent, like they were fifteen again and convinced they'd be a killer doubles team -- and best friends -- forever.

The TV, meanwhile, was showing some drama series about high school and dating. It didn't seem to reflect how truly strange a place school could be; Niou could tell people the exact truth about what some of his school years had been like (especially in the tennis team) and people assumed he was just making crazy shit up to amuse them. Mind you, apparently he didn't even need to leave his flat for his life to take entirely baffling turns. Maybe he was just a weirdness magnet. Or maybe Yagyuu was. He glanced up at Yagyuu, who seemed pretty absorbed in the show.

"Hey, who were you out with earlier?"

Yagyuu pushed his glasses up his nose slightly. "With a friend."

"A date?"

"Not this evening, no. Just a study session."

Niou pursed his lips. "See, I don't even know if you have a girlfriend to be going on dates with. Or a boyfriend?"

Yagyuu's expression didn't flicker. "Neither. How about you?"

"Uh. I've been with this guy, on and off, for a few months."

Yagyuu's eyes widened a bit, as if he was surprised. That was unexpected; Niou'd never quite admitted liking boys before, but surely Yagyuu'd noticed. "Oh."

"Though it's off at the moment. Takehashi's a fucking idiot sometimes."

Yagyuu ruffled Niou's hair soothingly. "Well, I'm not horrified by his existence, Niou-kun, if that was your worry."

_Of course not. I've seen your porn. Right in the drawer with the gun and the drugs, where you always keep it._

Time to address one thing, anyway. "Yeah, of course, 'cos I'd have to call you a hypocrite if you were."

Yagyuu gave him a look that was halfway between wariness and amusement. "Mmm, I suppose so. How long have you known?"

"I dunno, ages. How long were we in the tennis team for? I was pretty aware of who else was sneaking peeks at Yanagi's ass in the showers, trust me."

_Everyone, actually, but that's not the point._

Yagyuu chuckled. "Ah. Though I'm afraid I should correct you: I was looking at Sanada-kun."

_Because he has big muscles? Like in the porn you keep in a drawer with your gun._

The doorbell rang, and Niou let Yagyuu go get their food while he tried to come up with normal-sounding banter.

"Sanada, really? At least Yanagi was pretty," he ventured, in the end.

Yagyuu smiled as he handed over Niou's carton. "Surely Yukimura-kun was prettier, if you like pretty?"

"Oh, I looked at his ass too." Niou pulled out a prawn from his noodles, and examined it carefully. "I looked at everyone's. Including yours, before you ask."

"I'm flattered." At Niou's snort, Yagyuu smiled. "And alright, I suppose I looked at everyone too."

"You seem a bit surprised. I thought you knew I liked men?"

"I did. Then you confused me with that girl you wanted to elope with. I guess I assumed you'd ended up sticking with girls."

"Yeah, well, I'm flexible about these things."

"Apparently so."

Niou stirred his noodles. _Gun gun gun_ , it went around in his head. If he didn't say something soon he was going to go mad.

"So, um. I went in your room for pills, like I said. And I opened the drawer you probably didn't want me to open."

Yagyuu's expression stiffened slightly. "Ah."

"A bit more hardcore than I expected."

Yagyuu set his food down, and adjusted his glasses with a sigh. "I imagine it was."

"Care to explain, or am I supposed to pretend I saw nothing?"

"Are you capable of doing that?"

Niou poked his noodles again. "No, I don't think I am. Apparently I've missed something huge recently. Tell me?"

Yagyuu pursed his lips, and then he actually explained: he had been approached about carrying 'spare' experimental drugs from the hospital that students did third-stage training at to a drop-off point across town. There would be compensation for his involvement. He'd be paid a small token, but more importantly, certain unfortunate clinical errors would _not_ be attributed to his father. In other words, the family reputation would stay absolutely spotless as long as Yagyuu got his hands dirty in exchange.

That had been last year. Yagyuu was now reasonably well-established in the system; he couriered drugs from contacts at the hospital to contacts in Shinjuku, and collected their payment to hand on.

He'd practised a couple of times with the gun, but never had to use it, he said. Carrying it was a necessity, though; sometimes the contacts at the bars got a little jumpy and carrying a gun -- and making sure people knew he was carrying it -- made them less inclined to make trouble when Yagyuu was making the exchanges.

Niou shuddered. "Fuck. Here I was thinking you'd gone delinquent and joined a biker gang for thrills, but I guess not."

"No. It's a real syndicate. Just as vicious, only with more connections. They've said it's only until I finish my degree, though."

"Bull _shit_. They'll keep you at it forever, once you're reeled in. They'll set you up in a hospital job, I bet, so you can still have access." Niou thought for a moment about what he knew about yakuza lifestyles. "Crap, they'd make you cut off contact with your family eventually; that's how it works, right?"

Yagyuu sighed, and got up to discard the rest of his food. "No, I don't think so any more. Although, if they did, I might be tempted. I doubt my father would approve of most of my life choices at the moment."

"Ah." Yeah, Niou could see his point.

"Besides, associating with yakuza has some benefits, Niou-kun. I'm earning good money out of it now; they do pay me a percentage on the deals. Plus this syndicate are reasonably notorious -- people don't want to upset anyone connected to them, even on my lowly courier level. Which means I'm in a good position to help keep things quiet for my more indiscreet friends."

Niou blinked, and followed Yagyuu over to their sofa. "Who are you covering up for?"

"Someone I used to know is becoming a well-known sportsman." At Niou's expression, he clarified, "in this case, golf, not tennis. Though I'd do the same if Yukimura started hanging out in host clubs, too."

Niou turned sideways in his seat, drawing his legs up under him so he could press his knees against Yagyuu's side. Physical contact with other people always made them feel more solid, more reliable. More real. Right now, he needed to feel like Yagyuu was a dependable, real presence.

"I can't believe I didn't notice before. More than a year, fuck. I can't believe you didn't tell me."

"I wanted to." Yagyuu reached out and started running his fingers through Niou's hair. It was a habit they'd fallen into after a few of Niou's crises back in high school. Niou'd been slightly embarrassed by how predictably it would calm him down when he was stressed or annoyed, but Yagyuu'd been pretty decent about not teasing him on the topic. Or about exploiting his knowledge too much. Niou closed his eyes and leaned encouragingly into the touch, as Yagyuu kept talking. "I really did. But at first I was concerned you might demand to be included, or you'd think it was cool."

"Wow, thanks, I'm not that much of an idiot."

"You're pretty impulsive, though, and you do like danger."

Niou nodded, not opening his eyes. He'd had a few patches of hair buzzed short at his temple, and Yagyuu was lightly scratching his nails over the regrowth; it felt great. "I suppose. Yakuza work is a bit too much actual danger to life and limb for me, though."

"Sorry. If it helps, it's actually a relief that you've found out. Although I guess now I can't pretend it's not happening anymore. Before, this place felt like it was completely separate from that side of things."

"Except for the gun in your drawer, just on top of your butch manly man muscle porn."

"Ye-ess. Maybe I should go rummage in your room, find your porn stash, so you don't have quite such an advantage in this conversation, hmm?"

Niou waved his hand vaguely towards his room. "Feel free. I don't have a gun. Or even a vibrator."

He was expecting Yagyuu to make some defensive comment, but instead there was only silence. The hand on his head withdrew. He cracked open one eye to see Yagyuu smirking at him.

"What?"

"You, a prude, Niou-kun? I'm surprised."

"Hell, no. Just seems weird for _you_ to have one, Mr Prim-and-Proper Gentleman. But I suppose you need it. Too busy pleasing your oyabun to pick up dates, right?"

Yagyuu snorted. "Hardly. It's more that I can't trust most of the offers I get, just in case they turn out to be blackmailers from the syndicate. Or worse, from a rival one."

"...ah."

"Indeed." Yagyuu tipped his head to one side for a moment thoughtfully, then he stretched out his arm again and resumed rubbing his fingertips gently across the stubble at Niou's temple. The movement was slower and more deliberate than before. "I've barely touched another man in months."

Yagyuu's tone was distinctly suggestive. That was a surprise, but, well, Niou'd long since accepted that he'd always sort of have a _thing_ for Yagyuu. Niou wasn't the type to wallow in unrequited attraction, though; he'd fantasized a little in school -- especially once he'd realised Yagyuu liked guys -- but enough other people were a) hot and b) actually _available_ that getting hung up on his best friend had seemed like a really stupid idea. He'd pushed those particular thoughts to the back of his head and got on with his life.

He was totally willing to haul them right back out again, though, if Yagyuu did feel like expressing an interest.

He shifted his weight so he could move his legs out from under him, trying to keep his movements relaxed, and tucked his feet under Yagyuu's legs. "I guess it's a shame I'm not your type, then."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah." He shifted his knees slightly further apart and dug his toes upwards into Yagyuu's thighs, as Yagyuu's fingers traced lightly along the outer edge of his ear. "Since I'm pretty accommodating about being touched."

Yagyuu leaned in towards him. "What about your boyfriend?"

"I did say it was off right now. Free agent here."

Yagyuu swept his thumb down the side of Niou's face. Niou parted his lips, and allowed Yagyuu to push his thumb slowly inside his mouth. He let his teeth close around the tip just enough to be a warning; Yagyuu of all people should know Niou well enough not to expect too much gentleness from him.

"Mm. You did."

Niou leaned forwards, sucking down to the lower joint, hollowing his cheeks in as _filthy_ a manner as he could before pulling backwards and allowing Yagyuu's thumb to slide out slowly. Yagyuu's eyes narrowed, almost thoughtfully. He slid his thumb sideways, leaving a smear of moisture along Niou's lower lip.

"Also, apparently I'm pretty horny," Niou added, helpfully.

"So I gathered."

Yagyuu trailed his damp thumb down Niou's jaw and then let his hand drop to Niou's chest. Niou arched invitingly into the touch. "And you're a tease, _Yaaaagyuu_."

"Mmm."

Yagyuu's hand continued down slowly, down across Niou's t-shirt and then, finally, he spread his hand out over Niou's groin in an almost possessive movement. Niou flexed his hips upwards into Yagyuu's hand, and purred in delight as Yagyuu pressed the heel of his hand firmly against Niou's erection.

"We probably shouldn't do this," Yagyuu said, conversationally, as if he wasn't stroking Niou's cock through his jeans. "There'll be an awkward conversation in the morning."

"Yeah," said Niou, squirming. "But right now..."

" _Right now_ I think I'd like to fuck you into my mattress, Niou-kun."

It occurred to Niou, some time later, that he could discreetly retire back to his own bedroom; that might make the next day a little less awkward. Laziness won out, however. He hauled the blankets up over them and curled up determinedly, on the theory that Yagyuu's professed gentlemanliness would extend to not actually kicking him out. Yagyuu gave him an amused look, then reached an arm over him to turn off the lamp, without complaint or comment.

The next morning, Niou was delighted to discover that Yagyuu's interest was enough to inspire an enthusiastic second round; Niou was soon clutching at Yagyuu's pillows, hoping vaguely that their neighbours weren't going to end up reporting them for the noise levels. It was only afterwards, as Yagyuu went for a shower and the afterglow faded a bit, that Niou allowed himself to feel a bit worried about what exactly the consequences of sleeping with his flatmate and best friend would be. Up until last night Yagyuu'd been, to all intents and purposes, oblivious to both Niou's sexuality and his many charms.

But then, he hadn't known that Yagyuu was a criminal.

While he had the chance, Niou leaned out of bed and opened the drawer again. The gun was poking out from underneath the magazines; the bottle was tucked down one side, and he wondered about why Yagyuu had drugs here at all if he was supposed to be just passing them on. Possibly they were excess, or insurance, or something; maybe he needed to keep some around in case a deal turned up unexpectedly. If Yagyuu was taking them -- but no, he wouldn't, surely. And the jewellery Niou couldn't figure out at all. The gun, though, was almost kind of cool.

It was cradled carefully on his lap when Yagyuu returned -- Niou hadn't bothered dressing yet, and he could feel the cold weight of it on his thighs through the sheet -- and Yagyuu snorted in amusement before sitting on the bed, clutching his towel around his hips.

"I'll try and keep it somewhere else if having it here is going to obsess you this much."

"Do you even know about guns? Beyond pointing it and pulling the trigger, I mean. Even I can figure that bit out. But, like, maintenance and that stuff?"

Yagyuu reached out and picked it up. It was a pretty old-fashioned model, he explained, and showed Niou how to tell if it was loaded.

It _was_ loaded. Niou couldn't tell if that was more or less disturbing, really.

"It's pretty hard to fire it accidentally. Though that doesn't mean you can just play about with it."

Niou turned the gun around in his hands and sighted down it, careful not to put his fingers anywhere near the trigger. "You know, the stupid thing is, if you'd just kept it stuffed under your mattress or something, I wouldn't have seen it."

"Mmm. I rather hoped you wouldn't bother looking too hard. If it had been locked up properly, you'd have been relentlessly curious."

"Ha." Niou handed it back, finally. "I'm not that happy with it being here, but if you really need it then I won't actually object."

Yagyuu carefully put the gun back in the drawer and slid it shut. "Alright." He gave Niou a speculative look. "So, do we talk about last night now?"

Niou shrugged. "If we need to. Um. I had a great time, I hope it was fun for you too?"

"It was wonderful. I'm very glad you felt like being, ah, accommodating."

"Ha. So I'm sensing a but--"

"--but I am not expecting this to mean we're dating."

"Alright. Well, that means we act like last night never happened, and I pretend I don't know where you're going of an evening or that you're taking a gun with you. Yeah?"

Yagyuu tilted his head to one side. "If that's what you want."

"No, not really. What do _you_ want?"

"Frankly, to sleep with you again. And for you to be... not fine with the rest of it, but, well. I'd like to know I don't have to pretend I'm studying if I'm not."

"Ah." Niou thought about that for a moment. "So, friends with serious benefits, is what you're saying."

"I suppose so." Yagyuu shrugged. "But I do know that's selfish. I'll act like nothing happened if that's what's necessary for you."

Niou considered his options. He wasn't sure he could stop Yagyuu from doing whatever the hell it was he was doing, really, and he'd rather know what was going on. And he'd be crazy to turn down the chance to have sex like that more often, even if Yagyuu probably wasn't offering it out of anything other than convenience. He wasn't getting laid otherwise, from the sound of it.

"I think I'm good with selfish. But I have conditions."

"Are you going to issue them while you're still lounging around naked in my bed? Because I think that could be considered an unfair advantage in negotiations."

Niou laughed, and stretched luxuriously, fluttering his eyelashes at Yagyuu. "Yep."

"...fine."

"First, you tell me when you're going out with the drug deals and how likely it is you'll be staying away overnight. I'm going to worry anyway; at least let me worry with some accuracy."

Yagyuu frowned at him."I'll tell you what I can. I'm not going to tell you exactly what I'm doing or who I'm meeting or where."

"Yeah, I don't expect every detail, just timeframes. Overestimates, ideally."

"Then that's a condition I can try to meet. Next?"

"You do have to let me top once in a while."

Yagyuu laughed. "Really? I can cope with that."

Niou nodded. "Then I think we're probably good. Oh, wait, actually..."

Yagyuu was leaning in, as if to kiss him, but paused. "What?"

"The drugs bother me, maybe more than the gun. Don't keep any here -- buy a locker somewhere if you have to, I don't care. And if you start taking them, I don't care about excuses, I _will_ kick you out."

"I'm not going to take them."

"Good. I'm serious, I'd..."

And then Yagyuu kissed him; they were both going to miss all their morning lectures at this rate but, really, Niou suspected he'd find a way of living with the guilt.


	2. Chapter 2

For the next few weeks, Niou was actually quite content. He took the initiative and jumped Yagyuu early on that first evening, to avoid any awkward hesitation about their new arrangement. After that he spent most nights in Yagyuu's bed -- it was wider than his -- and decided that if the neighbours complained about the noise, at least he'd be blissfully shagged-out enough not to care. Yagyuu went out, rather sheepishly, twice, both times in the evening and taking his gun with him; Niou checked the drawer the first chance he had and noted that the bottle of drugs had vanished. He spent a while rummaging around in case Yagyuu had just hidden them elsewhere, but they seemed entirely gone.

On the third Monday, however, Yagyuu went out and came back very late, stinking of cigarettes and clearly rather drunk; he fell on top of Niou, who'd been not-waiting-up-for-him on the sofa, and started groping Niou through his blanket.

"Mm, geroff," muttered Niou, "not unless you shower first."

Yagyuu ignored him in favour of unzipping Niou's pants, and pretty soon he was giving Niou a sloppy, languid blowjob; Niou quickly decided he was actually okay with pretty much anything if Yagyuu was going to make it up to him this way. He didn't even mind too much when Yagyuu fell asleep sprawled over his legs afterwards.

The next time Yagyuu came home smelling drunk, that Friday, he stumbled into Niou's room and onto Niou's bed. Niou grumbled a bit -- Yagyuu had his own bed, and, even if Yagyuu felt like giving him a blowjob, Niou still didn't want _his_ sheets to smell like a chain-smoking alcoholic had slept on them -- then realised there was something else he recognised in amidst the disgusting muddle of scents. Fireworks?

"Wait, shit, Yagyuu. You smell weird. Like gunpowder."

Yagyuu blinked at him owlishly, his glasses abandoned on Niou's desk. Niou sniffed at Yagyuu's hands.

"You do. Fuck. Where is it?"

He scrabbled at Yagyuu's jacket, and found the gun in an inside pocket. He had no real idea how to tell if it had been fired, but he sniffed at the barrel cautiously. It carried a definite scent of sharp, acrid smoke; he was sure he'd have noticed it smelling like this before.

He dropped it and scrambled backwards, out of his bed, away from Yagyuu, landing on the floor with a thud and barely caring. "Holy crap. Did you _shoot_ someone?"

Yagyuu reached down to him, looking confused. "No. Fired it into a wall."

Niou stared at him, ignoring the outstretched hand. " _Why_?"

"Deal went wrong. The guy took the package and was going to run." Yagyuu sat up, and shook his head. "I fired it as a warning."

Niou stood up. "Go shower, right now. You reek."

Yagyuu nodded, still seeming bemused. "Alright."

He left the gun on the bed, and Niou stared at it again. He picked it up and turned over in his hands, before it occurred to him that his fingerprints were all over a gun that Yagyuu had fired that evening, even if was apparently 'into a wall'.

He wiped it clean, carefully, and put it on his desk.

Yagyuu returned to his room after showering, looking quite a lot more sober and rather sheepish, after about ten minutes. Niou was in bed, knees clutched to his chest, staring at the gun, wondering if he believed Yagyuu's story.

"Niou-kun? I'm sorry if I alarmed you." Yagyuu sat on the end of the bed, and reclaimed his glasses. "I really hate having to use that thing."

"That's your excuse for drinking? Or was it just so I wouldn't notice the smell?"

"No. Believe me, drunk is better than the mess I was in earlier."

"So last time, on the sofa -- you'd shot a wall then, too, I suppose?"

Yagyuu actually winced. "I, ah, I actually shot at someone that time. Just aiming for the leg, so he'd stop running. But I missed; my aim's pretty awful."

He'd nearly shot someone. He might not have hit them, but _damn_ , he'd really meant to. Niou did his best to keep his voice calm.

"I think you should sleep in your own room tonight."

"Niou-kun."

"I'm... just leave me alone for now, please."

Yagyuu hesitated, patted him gently on the knee, and then did as Niou asked and left. He didn't take the gun with him. Niou threw a shirt over it so he didn't have to look at the damned thing, and tried not to give into the overwhelming urge to punch something in sheer frustration.

Fuck. Yagyuu had actually tried to shoot someone.

Niou wondered exactly how much of what Yagyuu had told him was true. First of all, was he just a courier? If so, and if he was just running drugs, then he was clearly running some stupidly expensive deals if he was willing to maim someone to get the payment owed. Or maybe the penalty for not collecting payments was so bad that shooting someone was a better option than letting them get away -- he'd said it was a pretty vicious group, after all.

If he wasn't just a drug courier... well, Niou really didn't want to think about what Yagyuu could actually be involved in.

He kept running up against the same thought: this was Yagyuu. He _knew_ Yagyuu. Hell, he'd _been_ Yagyuu sometimes, for hours at a time. And Yagyuu had always had a capacity for violence; Niou'd seen him smash balls at enough people's faces to be certain of that. But Niou had always assumed Yagyuu had solid limits on how far was too far. Besides -- off the courts -- he'd actually earned that Gentleman label with his manners and his politeness and good behaviour. He was Niou's moral compass; Niou was supposed to be the one who went off the rails, Yagyuu was the one who'd haul him back on.

So how well did Niou really know Yagyuu?

Sometime in the early morning, he went to Yagyuu's room. Yagyuu was awake -- Niou was rather sadistically glad to see that he apparently couldn't sleep -- and he looked relieved but wary at seeing Niou. Niou padded over to the bed and slid in next to him.

"Are you going to kick me out?" Yagyuu asked, very quietly, after a moment.

"I don't know," said Niou, and curled up against Yagyuu's side.

Yagyuu held him and kissed him gently on the crown of his head. It felt awkward, and the physical contact wasn't nearly as reassuring as Niou had hoped.

He must have fallen asleep eventually, because when Niou woke, Yagyuu had already left the bed. Niou showered and dressed as quickly as he could, and Yagyuu mutely handed him a cup of coffee as they sat down at their tiny kitchen table. Yagyuu's expression was carefully neutral as he drank, but he kept sneaking glances at Niou as if waiting for him to speak.

Niou let him stew for a while, blowing on his coffee to cool it.

"I'm not making you leave," he said, eventually. "At least, I don't think I am."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"You're not just a drug courier, are you?"

Yagyuu pushed his glasses up a bit. "I fence some items on occasion."

"That's not enough to explain everything."

Yagyuu picked up his own coffee, and seemed to be examining it carefully. "What would explain everything?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure most couriers don't have enough influence to protect their friends from rumours. And they don't get issued guns."

"Alright." Yagyuu sipped at his coffee, but didn't offer any further information. It was infuriating.

"I don't want another lie that just fits the facts I know."

"So what do you want?"

"I know you won't tell me the truth. But tell me what you can, and don't tell me outright lies. And if you get into real trouble, I want to know." Niou took a deep breath. "I'll help you if I can. Even if you hurt someone, whatever. Whatever it takes."

"I don't want you to get involved in any of this," said Yagyuu flatly. "I'm grateful for the expression of loyalty, I truly am. But it isn't your business."

"Pfft, stop pretending I need protecting from this shit. It shouldn't be your business, either."

Yagyuu sighed. "But it is. I admit, I'm not being honest with you about what I do. But for the most part, the life actually suits me."

"So what, you're actually going to make a career out of working for the Yakuza?"

"It's an option."

_Okay, fuck this_. Niou pushed his chair back from the table, and stood up. "Right, well, with that, I'm going out. Try not to get shot today, dear, okay?"

"Niou-kun, wait."

"For what? For you to realise what a complete idiot you're being? I have better things to do with my life."

Yagyuu stood. "I... are you going to come home tonight?"

"Probably. Hard to say. I might get a better offer." Yagyuu looked stung enough that Niou relented a little. "Look, I'll text you later. But right now I really need to not be around you."

Niou ended up catching a train into central Tokyo. He'd agreed to meet up with Yukimura that afternoon anyway -- it'd been months since he'd caught up with anyone from Rikkai other than Yagyuu. He occasionally reminded himself that he should make an effort to see Yanagi or Kirihara, since they lived in Tokyo too, but only Yukimura seemed to be capable of guilt-tripping people into meeting up with him when he was in town.

He'd been planning on hauling Yagyuu along this time too. Oh well.

He caught sight of himself in a shop window; damn, he looked as rattled and twitchy as he felt. And he hadn't bothered to shave that morning, either. Hopefully he could claim his faint and patchy stubble was a fashion statement.

Coffee. That would help.

By the time Yukimura strolled into the cafe that afternoon with Yanagi in tow, Niou was pretty certain he looked relatively normal -- laid-back, even. Unfortunately, that meant nothing with people like Yanagi and Yukimura around. Yukimura gave him a long assessing stare as they sat down.

"You look like you didn't sleep. Late night, or did you fight with your girl?"

"Boy," corrected Niou automatically, and then thought for a moment. "Well. He's not my boyfriend, really. But yeah, we had a fight."

Yukimura glanced at Yanagi, who shrugged.

"Is he not a boyfriend because you had a fight?" asked Yukimura gently.

"He's not a boyfriend because he's an idiot. And because it's not that kind of... we're not dating."

Yanagi stretched out his legs under the table. "But this is someone you're sleeping with?"

"Right. It's a mutually convenient thing."

"Mmm. Convenient and male and vague on the labelling, but you're genuinely hurt by whatever's going on and you look like you left in a hurry. And you don't have a bag with you, so you came from home."

"So?"

"It's Yagyuu."

Yukimura's eyes practically lit up with delight, to Niou's horror. "Really? That's wonderful."

"Yanagi, have I mentioned lately how much I hate you?"

Yanagi smiled. "Seiichi's been plotting to get you two together for years. It's not a hard leap of logic to make."

"Ugh. Fine, look, it's not going especially well at the moment, but yes. It's just for sex, really. And I don't want to talk about it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Don't push. How are your love lives?"

Yukimura grinned, brightly. "Renji got a new girlfriend! She's cute. Hates the sight of me, though."

"No, she doesn't."

"She really does, but it's fine. Perhaps I'm just too pretty for her to trust Renji around me."

Niou snorted. "Damn, she has no idea. If _I_ can't turn him then you don't stand a chance."

"I wasn't aware you'd tried," drawled Yanagi, "and she's not actually as paranoid as Seiichi is making her sound."

"Does she have any cute friends? Maybe I should find a nice girl instead."

"She does, but you'd find them a bit boring. And they'd find you a bit too... well, non-boring."

"Oh well." Niou sighed theatrically. "You know, I actually miss school. Everything was simple there. Go on dates with girls, look wistfully at boys. Occasionally wonder how much damage to everyone's sexuality would be done if Yukimura turned up to practise in a dress."

Yukimura took his hand across the table, and smiled at him. "None, I promise. I look dreadful in dresses. It's the shoulders."

Niou squeezed Yukimura's hand, grateful for the contact. "Ah, but all of us were crazy about you, buchou. No girl could ever compare to you with your flowing hair, your soft voice..."

Yukimura laughed, and pulled his hand away gently. "You're in a punchy mood today. This fight with Yagyuu must be really getting to you."

"Yeah. Have you ever felt like you didn't really know someone after all?"

"Sometimes."

"Did Yagyuu ever seem, I dunno, completely fucking crazy to you?"

"...Not really?"

Yanagi shook his head. "Occasionally he was unpredictable, but frankly he was a lot less crazy than most of the team members."

Niou slumped onto the table. "I can't even tell if that's reassuring or not."

"Niou, seriously. Are you okay? Do we need to stage some sort of intervention?"

Niou looked up; Yukimura and Yanagi both looked pretty concerned. Shit. He really didn't want either of them poking their noses in too deeply.

"Nah, he's just... I dunno. I can't trust him not to lie to me whenever it suits him."

Yanagi frowned. "Is he sleeping around behind your back?"

"What? No. At least, I don't think so. It's not that, anyway. Enh, don't worry, I'm just in a shitty mood and it's probably nothing."

They both stared at him dubiously, then Yukimura shrugged in a deliberate gesture of letting the topic slide. "If you insist. I, meanwhile, am firmly and contentedly not dating anyone. Nor am I interested in anyone."

"Ah, you utter spoilsport."

"Sorry to disappoint you."

Yanagi leaned forward, and lowered his voice to a stage whisper. "He was definitely sleeping with someone in that last all-Japan tournament. I just can't quite work out who it was."

"My lips are sealed." Yukimura serenely sipped at his tea. "The relationship didn't last very long, thankfully."

Yanagi shook his head, and gave Niou a conspiratorial look. "I think it could have been Echizen."

"I was going to suggest Atobe, but that's even better."

Yukimura smiled. "No, no. At least they both play decent tennis."

" _Interesting_ observation," said Yanagi. "Now I'm especially curious. Was it someone I'd know?"

"No more hints, Renji."

Yanagi sighed. "See how he taunts me with incomplete data? Genichirou never taunts me."

"He just wouldn't provide any information at all, and then you'd have nothing to try and figure out." Yukimura grinned, and poked Yanagi in the arm. "Don't pretend you're grumpy at the challenge."

By the end of the afternoon, Niou felt a lot better, if a little envious for how relaxed they both seemed. Presumably they were both under considerable pressure. Yanagi's degree seemed immensely complex, and Yukimura's training regime seemed insane no matter whether it was tennis season or not. But they seemed happy with their lives. He fended off further gentle probing from Yukimura about Yagyuu over the next hour or so; certainly if Yukimura wasn't going to give details about his love life, Niou didn't feel he had any obligation to satisfy Yukimura's curiosity.

With a bit of perspective, though, he definitely felt calmer about Yagyuu's situation. Yagyuu had been forced into being a criminal, so of course he'd go about being one efficiently and effectively, just like he'd never held back from anything else he put his mind to. Being willing to do whatever was necessary to excel in a situation; hell, Niou could admire that.

Niou was pretty annoyed by everything else, though. At the very least, Yagyuu had kept huge secrets from him even after they'd started sleeping together. And he had suspicions that Yagyuu had been rather carefully manipulating Niou so that Niou hadn't noticed the gaps in his story -- which had worked, and that was really fucking humiliating, to be honest.

He gave up on his vaguely-formed plan to stay out late as petty revenge, and sent a text.

_On my way back. Still angry, but we'll talk._

_I'm glad._

Yagyuu met him at the door, and pulled him into a hug as soon as the door was closed. Niou submitted, but only for a few moments; it'd be far too easy for Yagyuu to pet him into agreeableness if he didn't cut the tactile stuff immediately.

"Ok, enough. We need to talk."

"If you like."

They sat at their kitchen table again; it felt like the most neutral space. Niou sighed, and propped his chin on one hand. "Look, I don't want to think of you as some psychotic gangster."

"Good, because I'm not."

"Really? You shot a guy because he was going to run from a deal."

"I shot him in the leg. And I missed."

"Can you hear yourself? Neither of those things makes it okay."

Yagyuu adjusted his glasses. "Niou-kun, if I don't take the syndicate the money they're owed, they'd do more than shoot me in the leg, believe me."

"Right. But the fact that you say that, and also say that it wouldn't be so bad if it became permanent... that's where I have problems."

"I wouldn't stay a courier forever."

"What would you do, then, instead? Enforcer? Pimp? Bodyguard? Hitman?"

"Apparently violent syndicates have a need for doctors."

Niou stared at Yagyuu. "You're serious? That's a thing?"

"I'm not exactly delighted by the idea. I'd prefer not to be involved at all, and especially not with this group. But I didn't get to choose. My only realistic alternative is to get out of their area of influence, which would mean _leaving Tokyo_. I'm finishing my degree here; I refuse to let them chase me away. And I... ah... hm."

"What?"

Yagyuu stared at him, then sighed. "Alright, as you've already guessed, I don't really courier much. I only handled this courier work recently because of the drugs involved. I started university with some very useful sets of medical connections and contacts -- and that's why they targeted me, to make connections and play doctor for problems they can't take to a hospital. Very occasionally I end up on the fringes of actual conflicts -- hence the gun -- but then I'm just another face to make their numbers look impressive."

"Fuck that. They bring you into their fights, they don't do that if you're not 'family'. So that bullshit about being 'just' affiliated..."

"Niou-kun, you've seen me naked; did you _see_ any tattoos?"

Niou shrugged. "Even I know that doesn't mean much these days."

"Maybe so. But I swear, I'm not a member. I've never drunk their saké. I haven't taken any vows."

"Hunh. Well, speaking of that, I could really do with a drink, if we have any. And then I need to decide if I believe you, or if this is just another line of bullshit to hide something worse."

Yagyuu got up and fetched Niou a beer. "There's really no way I can prove it to you. I've told you what I can."

"That doesn't mean it's the truth, does it?"

Yagyuu shook his head and sat down again. "It's close to it, though."

Niou opened his beer, and pushed his chair back to balance on two legs before taking a swig. "Which leaves me two options. Believe most of what you say, and hope you get out before you end up killed or maimed or a murderer. Or don't believe you, and still hope that, but with more suspicion and distrust."

Yagyuu steepled his fingers. "I suppose so."

"Fuck, you're lucky I love you." At Yagyuu's raised eyebrow, Niou shrugged. "You know what I mean. I wouldn't take this shit from just anyone."

"Ah. Well, then, yes, I'm lucky."

"So, I'm deciding to believe you. And my best chance of convincing you to get out is by staying around, so I won't move out either."

Niou paused, and took another swig.

"The sex is a problem, though. I'm pretty pissed off about you using it against me."

Yagyuu blinked. "Excuse me?"

"C'mon. You'd never shown any interest in me before, but as soon as I found out, hey, you start fucking me silly just so I wouldn't think too hard about what you were actually up to."

"That's what you think?" Yagyuu stood up, abruptly, making Niou lose his balance; his chair slammed down onto all four legs. "You think I'd do that?"

"You came home after nearly shooting someone, and practically insisted on blowing me so I didn't ask questions about where you'd been."

"No, I came home after a horrific day, and tried to make it a little less horrific by giving someone I actually care about a good time."

Niou stared at him. Yagyuu looked genuinely furious.

"And the first time? Right after I found the gun?"

"I slept with you because you _offered_ , because I _wanted_ to, and because you practically deep-throated my thumb as a party trick. Don't you _dare_ imply that I _seduced_ you as part of some cheap ploy to distract you."

Niou lifted the can to his lips again. "Shit. Ok."

" _OK_?"

"I mean, I believe you. I'm sorry I thought you were playing me like that."

Yagyuu's mouth tightened. "I can't believe you think I'd do that to you."

_But you'd shoot a man_. Niou couldn't help it. He laughed. "Seriously? Don't try and pretend to have the moral high ground here, c'mon."

Yagyuu looked blank, and then he gave a tired, snorting sort of laugh and sat down again. "You're right. What a mess. God knows what our friends would make of all this."

"Oh, the sleeping together they'd mostly approve of. I saw Yukimura and Yanagi today. Yanagi figured we'd hooked up -- well, guess how many minutes it took him."

"Five?"

"More like three. Yukimura was so disappointed when I said that it wasn't a proper relationship."

Yagyuu tipped his head to one side. "And what is it?"

"Complicated." Niou sighed, and put his can down carefully on the table. "I made a stink about honesty, so I'll be honest. I still _want_ you, so I'm pretty sure we'll end up sleeping together again. And even if that doesn't happen, you're still my best friend. For now."

He pushed the beer towards Yagyuu.

"Oh." Yagyuu stared at the can for a moment as if confused by the gesture, then picked it up and took a cautious sip. "Good. To both."

"I meant what I said earlier. If you need help, I will help you. Fuck not getting involved; if it's a choice between getting me involved and lying to me, you _don't have a choice_. And once your degree's over, I'll convince you to leave Tokyo."

"And go where?"

"Ah, who knows. Doctors can go anywhere, right? Pick somewhere with good beaches. I vote for Okinawa -- if I can't get a real job there, I can at least learn to surf."

Yagyuu gave Niou a stern look, and set down the can. "You're planning _our_ future, not just mine."

"Yeah. Unilateral decision. Nobody else would put up with this shit from you, and you clearly need someone to keep an eye on you."

"That first night, I told you --"

"-- it was just a sex thing as far as you were concerned. I know. Tough."

Yagyuu adjusted his glasses. "Actually I said I didn't expect a relationship. I wasn't objecting to the idea."

"Oh come on, are you kidding me? You know you made it sound like you wanted to keep things casual."

"Yes, I did. I thought you might have complained about it being too complicated and awkward."

"Ha. I _like_ complicated and awkward, or did you forget?" Niou cupped his chin in his hand. "You know, I used to spend ages in school wondering if I could contrive some way of making you have to kiss me."

"Hmm. You never thought to just try it and see?"

"What, and live out the doubles pair cliché of making out in the locker rooms after practise? Please."

Yagyuu reached out across the table and took Niou's other hand, somewhat to Niou's surprise. "Humour me a moment and give me a direct answer, Masaharu: does this mean you're my _boyfriend_?"

Niou blinked, a little surprised by the forcefulness behind the question. "Yes."

_No backing out now, I suppose._

"So what now?" asked Yagyuu, after a few moments of silence.

Niou let go of his hand, and tipped his chair backwards onto two legs again. "You mean right now, or generally?"

"Generally I think I get the idea. I _have_ dated before, you know."

"You think dating me is going to be like dating anyone else? I'm offended."

"Yes, what was I thinking?" Yagyuu said dryly. "But right now, what do we do?"

Niou snorted. "No idea. I... think I need to spend a night in my own bed. Alone. In case I wake up tomorrow morning and regret this."

"I hope you..." Yagyuu's phone buzzed, and he actually scowled. "And with perfect timing, I'm guessing I will be out this evening anyway."

Niou forced an amused smile onto his face and kept his chair balanced on two legs as Yagyuu tapped irritably at his phone. _This is what I've signed up for, I guess._

Yagyuu looked up apologetically at Niou. "It's not couriering. I shouldn't have to do anything dangerous. I can't tell you more than that."

"Really, nothing else? Not even a vague idea of where you'll be back?"

"I really can't say. Late, I think."

"Right, well. I have some coursework to do, so I won't walk you out. I guess I'll see you when I see you." Niou kept his tone light, but it apparently wasn't convincing.

"Niou-kun."

"No, fuck it, look, I am never going to be happy about you doing this stuff, but you will need to let me pretend I'm not pissed off or we'll fight all the time."

"Alright." Yagyuu rose smoothly. "I do have a little time before they need me, but I think it'd probably be better for your mood if I leave now."

Niou let his chair drop onto four legs. "Yeah. See you later."

Yagyuu stared at him for a moment, then leant across the table and kissed him chastely on the lips. "Goodnight, Niou-kun."

It was pretty late when Niou heard Yagyuu come back in -- almost late enough that he'd decided to stop waiting up. He didn't bother poking his head out of his bedroom door and as far as he could tell Yagyuu didn't even hesitate before heading into his own room. He snorted quietly to himself and turned off his light.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, he emerged bleary-eyed from his room to a quiet flat. He wondered if Yagyuu was awake; then he wondered if Yagyuu was even still in the flat.

He knocked on Yagyuu's door before opening it and peeking in; Yagyuu sleepily raised his head from an uncharacteristic tangle of bedding and blinked at Niou. He looked genuinely surprised.

"Coffee? Food?"

"Mm." Yagyuu shook his head, then sat up, looking exhausted. "No. I'm taking you out for breakfast."

_Interesting_. "Oh, you are, _are_ you?"

Yagyuu put on his glasses. "Yes. Go shower."

Niou did as he was told, wondering if this was promising or not. He took his time getting dressed after his shower, feeling weirdly self-conscious suddenly; Yagyuu -- who had managed to shower and get ready in what seemed like record time -- leaned around the door and smiled at him expectantly after a while. _He's dressed casually, for Yagyuu at least. Still kinda looks like he swallowed the rulebook, though._

"So," said Niou, fiddling with his earrings in the mirror, "where are we going?"

"I don't mind. You can pick."

"Is this a _date_?"

"If you want it to be." Yagyuu pushed his glasses up his nose. "Although mostly I just want to apologise for last night."

They ended up in a local burger bar; the food there was always awful but watching Yagyuu try not to wrinkle his nose at the smell was hilarious. Besides, nobody would pay them any attention in here, especially in the corner they chose; the staff were too apathetic and the clientele were too busy forcing the food down their throats at high speed.

"When you asked if this was a date, I expected you to pick somewhere..."

"Classier?" offered Niou. "Nah, you can take me on a real date some other time. Apology food isn't date food."

"I see." Yagyuu poked at his fries as if wondering if they were edible; Niou helpfully plucked one out of the box, dipped it in the ketchup and then held it out for Yagyuu to eat. He did so, then grimaced. "That is appalling."

"Sugar, salt, fat and starch. What more do you need?"

"Flavour?"

"Overrated." Niou grinned, and pointed to the burger. "Just wait until you try that. All the above plus more grease and something pretending to be protein."

"I think I'll pass." Yagyuu pushed the whole tray towards Niou, who just grinned more widely and doused another chip in ketchup before eating it. "So tell me, how is this suitable apology food?"

"Because it's kind of the same; this isn't really food, and you're not really making an apology."

Yagyuu's face froze, suspended somewhere between hurt and confusion.

"C'mon, you know I'm right. You're going to have to run off again whenever they call, so it's not a real apology. And I knew you'd be doing that when I agreed to try being your boyfriend, so it's not even an apology I wanted you to make."

"I... see. But I am actually sorry."

"And I'm actually enjoying this food. See, it's a great metaphor. Probably." Niou drowned another chip; the ketchup was sour but kind of addictive.

"Assuming I concede this point: can I take you for a nice meal at some point soon? We could even go for yakiniku if you promise not to traumatise the staff again."

"You're asking me to go on a date and insisting I behave? So romantic."

Yagyuu leaned across the table. "Do you actually _want_ romance from me?"

Niou considered that, licking ketchup and salt from his fingers. "Give it a try, I'll let you know."

"Hm." Yagyuu leaned back. "Well: I've wanted to kiss you since we were in middle school; in fact, since you first tried on my glasses and then grumbled that you didn't look as handsome in them as I did."

"I said that?"

"Mm. Then you put them back on my face and told me that it was probably just as well; if you were any better-looking then even more girls would want to date you."

"Ha. I was so full of it."

"Actually I remember thinking you were probably right, and thinking it wouldn't be very long until some girl kissed you. I already kind of disliked that future girl on principle. And that's when I realised _I_ wanted to kiss you instead."

"Oh."

_That's... sort of romantic. And maybe a bit creepy considering everything._

Niou pulled his face into a rueful expression. "Heh, did I even tell you about my real first kiss? Kaya-chan from our class mushed her lips into mine one lunchtime and then burst into giggles and ran away. I was so annoyed at how stupid and uncool it was that I just pretended it hadn't happened for years."

"I remember you telling me that your first time had been awful -- that time we stole your father's umeshi, I think? My first was just Niishima-san. And she had too much lip gloss on; it was really sticky."

"Yeah, I can remember you grumbling about that after practise and Yanagi assuring us all that not every girl wore so much. Didn't realise she was the first girl you kissed though."

"Very nearly the only girl I've ever kissed; it didn't seem very kind to do so once I realised I preferred men."

"Huh." Niou thought back. "You did date girls, though."

"As did you."

"Yeah, I still quite like girls." At Yagyuu's dubious expression, Niou rolled his eyes. "No, really. Don't make me have the same conversation with you I had with Yukimura. It's not that weird."

"I see. My apologies."

"Speaking of that... so, uh, yeah, just the once. Second year of high school."

"I'm not certain what question you think that's an answer to."

"Me and Yukimura."

"...Oh. I... _really_?"

Niou laughed. "Yeah, really, but it was because he'd just gotten outed at the training camp and I didn't know how else to convince him that _some_ of us didn't give a damn. So I kissed him, quite hard."

"Did it work?"

"Not as well as Sanada stammering out his heartfelt and continued loyalty did, but hey, I tried."

"Huh." Yagyuu seemed more amused than anything else, rather to Niou's relief.

He fidgeted with his fries. "I knew you liked guys back then. So did Yukimura; right afterwards, he asked _what about Yagyuu_ and _I'd rather not disrupt the stability of an established doubles pair all the same._ "

"That sounds like Yukimura-kun, yes." Yagyuu smiled. "Was he the first boy you kissed?"

"Nah, afraid not. Only one you'd know well enough to care about, though."

"Given how deeply it seems to have affected you, I suspect I'll manage to live with the crippling envy."

"Ha -- wait, envy of which one of us?"

Yagyuu adjusted his glasses. "I think I'd rather let you wonder about that, Niou-kun."

Niou wiped his hands, and shoved the tray to one side. "Pfft, you'd pick me over Yukimura any day, I'm pretty sure. Shall we get out of here?"

"Where would you like to go?"

"Back home, I think, unless you're really set on this whole _out_ business." Niou smiled at Yagyuu's raised eyebrow. "You can buy really good coffee for us both on the way, though."

"...very well."

Back in the flat, Yagyuu placed the remains of his coffee carefully on the table before hauling Niou into a rather fierce kiss; Niou kissed back enthusiastically for a minute before he bit at Yagyuu's lip and pushed him away.

"Ah, ah. Not quite so fast. First, we need to have words."

Yagyuu looked bewildered. "Words?"

"Yeah: don't apologise so much, okay? I might kick you out of my bed in a snit, but I don't hold a grudge if I can help it and I'll listen to reason after I've cooled off. But all these apologies _will_ piss me off."

"Alright." Yagyuu tipped his head to one side. "I won't. _Now_ can I kiss you?"

They fell onto the sofa together, Yagyuu's hands already working at Niou's buckle frantically. Niou came up for air long enough to pull off Yagyuu's glasses and unfasten his tie, but Yagyuu very quickly recaptured his lips and slid his hands into Niou's underwear smoothly. Niou groaned and leant back so Yagyuu could get his jeans open properly; if Yagyuu was that keen then Niou would willingly allow him to do as much of the work as he felt like.

Yagyuu sprawled over him afterwards, boneless and relaxed in a way Niou couldn't help be entertained by; he couldn't quite get used to seeing this side of Yagyuu.

"Feel better now?"

"Mmm." Yagyuu stretched. "You're a terrible cushion."

"You don't feed me enough, is why. If you wanna nap, we should maybe move to a bed."

"No, I'll live." Yagyuu reached out and snagged his glasses, then shimmied over a little so his weight wasn't resting quite so much on Niou's stomach. "Your laziness is contagious."

Niou grinned and sat up a little. "Must be sexually transmitted. Okay, question: if we're actually properly together now, is it okay to tell people?"

"Tell whoever you like, whenever you want to, within reason." Yagyuu yawned, and dropped his head back down, his glasses digging into Niou's chest. "Make certain you take a photo of Kirihara-kun's expression for me."

Niou laughed and reached down for his jeans, grabbing his phone.

"Are you calling him _right now_?" asked Yagyuu incredulously, not lifting his head.

"Nah." Niou flipped open his phone and found the number he wanted. "Just putting the news out there."

_Okay so he's a proper boyfriend *now*. Don't be too smug._

"This way Yukimura'll tell everyone. Far more efficient."

_I knew you'd get there. He's very lucky and also a saint for putting up with you. <3_

"Aaaand now you're really stuck with me. You try and ditch me, Yukimura'll come after you with a knife."

Yagyuu stretched again. "I've had worse threats."

"Huh, I guess so. What with the gun, I guess you're, oh, nearly half as dangerous to piss off as he is."

Niou's phone buzzed again, a few lazy minutes later.

_Seiichi called me. About time. I'll let you know if Genichirou faints when he finds out._

"We're going to get messages from half of Rikkai, aren't we."

"And the bulk of the tennis circuit, if I know Yukimura-kun." Yagyuu pressed a gentle kiss to Niou's chest, and his hand curled around Niou's hip. "You might want to turn your phone off before Atobe-kun calls you asking why you didn't tell him personally."

Niou did so, and then managed to haul Yagyuu off the sofa and into Yagyuu's bedroom.

"You know, if I'm going to be in here all the time, we're going to want a bigger bed," he mused some time later, trying to muster the energy to get up and shower. "Not that this isn't cosy, but it's going to be too cosy when the weather turns warmer."

"We can look into it." Yagyuu said. "When our lease runs out we could even get a single bedroomed place, I suppose."

"Wanna explain that to our parents?"

"Ah, true." Yagyuu rolled onto his back. "So much for saving some money."

"I thought you were rich from all this criminal activity." Niou curled along his side, idly running a finger along Yagyuu's collarbone, just to see him twitch a bit. "But when we move away, yeah, we'll only need one bedroom."

Yagyuu smiled at him. "Hmm. Tempting. But you remember I haven't agreed to that yet, yes?"

"Yeah, yeah." Niou sighed. "Okay. Shower. Then I check my phone."

There was a whole, rather blissful, week before Yagyuu was summoned again by his mysterious contacts; when it happened, he and Niou had pulled all the cushions off the sofa. They'd also grabbed all their pillows and blankets and made what was basically a giant nest in front of their television -- the plan was to curl up and watch cheesy horror movies together, all Sunday.

Yagyuu normally wasn't enthusiastic about horror movies, but Niou'd discovered over time that his tolerance was a lot higher if Niou picked examples from the sillier end of the spectrum, and even higher if alcohol was involved. It was the most datelike thing they'd actually gotten around to setting up, and so somehow it seemed just _typical_ that it was interrupted halfway through the first movie.

Yagyuu sighed that he'd be back late -- possibly even the next day. Niou was distinctly annoyed; he didn't know what would make Yagyuu need to be out overnight, but nothing he could think of made him very happy. He did, however, make a spirited attempt not to look too irritated, and told Yagyuu that he could just leave everything where it was and then they could try this again the following afternoon instead.

Yagyuu, reluctantly, went to get dressed. Niou flicked over to the television, and wondered what he was going to do with his afternoon. By the time Yagyuu was ready, so was Niou, and Yagyuu shot him a curious look as he stepped out of the bedroom.

"Meeting Yukimura for a match," Niou explained, pulling his racquet bag onto his shoulder. "It's either that or I sit here and sulk."

"Ah."

Playing Yukimura was always an interesting experience for Niou; Yukimura was in pretty amazing condition -- if Niou was going to play against Yukimura more often in response to Yagyuu running off, he'd need to train properly to really keep up -- but Niou played enough at university that he wasn't too horribly out of practise, and if he mixed up his techniques enough then he could usually take a couple of games in each set. Yukimura always eventually took three straight sets from him, but at least he could be assured that he'd provided a bit of a challenge.

As usual, being able to take any points at all made Yukimura's coach -- sitting on the sidelines -- grumble and sigh that Niou really should take up tennis professionally too. Yukimura gave him a sympathetic look, but Niou'd learned not to argue or Yukimura would gently start adding his opinion too, and that usually ended up with Niou having to spend a couple of days re-convincing himself that he really wanted to stay at university and finish his degree.

Yukimura's coach left them to it, once they'd finished their match, after issuing Yukimura strict instructions about alcohol, diet and late nights. Niou resisted the urge to roll his eyes -- there was his motivation to not go pro, right there in a nutshell -- and then dutifully took Yukimura out to the quietest gay bar he could remember the location of.

Yukimura frowned at him over the tail end of an incredibly restrained tonic water. Niou'd gotten through the better part of two bottles of cheap beer; for the most part, their conversation had been about the current state of the tennis circuit. Or at least, the gossip relating to those members of it that Niou had played against back in the day; to hear Yukimura talk, you'd think the locker rooms descended into orgies after particularly intense tournaments.

"So," said Yukimura eventually, "it's not that I don't enjoy getting to see you..."

"I know, I know. He's busy, so I needed company. Besides, can't start neglecting my friends just 'cause I've got a boyfriend."

"I see."

Yukimura's non-questions were as pointed as his questions. Niou shrugged. "We're happy. It's really good."

"I'm glad to hear it." Yukimura sipped at his drink. "So why are you in a bad mood at me mentioning him?"

Niou drummed his fingers on his beer can. "Because I'm not really allowed to be pissed at him for ditching me at short notice. And he's likely to do it pretty often. No, don't ask why; it's just the way things are for now."

"You're going to have me speculating wildly, you know."

"You'll live."

Yukimura sighed heavily.

"What about you? Still rocking the single life?"

"As usual, yes. My bed is very lonely and cold these days."

Yukimura pitched his words at just the right volume to carry -- a broad-shouldered guy had been lingering near their table for a while, eavesdropping in a not-very-subtle way. Niou smirked at Yukimura in amusement.

"Subtle. Maybe some lucky man will come sweep you off your feet, huh." He stretched, and set his drink down. "Oh, hey, and would you look at the time. I'll just use the facilities before I head home, I think."

Yukimura gave him a faux-stern look. "Are you sure you're okay to go home? Stay if you need to talk."

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks for the game. Hopefully I won't come bug you too often."

"Say hi to Yagyuu for me. Tell him not to neglect you."

Yagyuu didn't come home that evening, as he'd foreseen, but he was home when Niou returned from classes the next day.

"I've told them I need more advance warning," he said without preamble, as Niou took off his coat. "I can't keep cancelling other commitments."

"Geez, how well did that go down?"

"I pointed out that I can't reschedule discreetly if I don't have any notice. They'll try not to haul me in quite so abruptly. But it's not something I can rely on them doing."

They were most of the way through the first movie, and Yagyuu was combing his fingers idly through Niou's hair, when it occurred to Niou to say, "Oh yeah. Yukimura said hi."

"How was your game?"

"Fine. His coach nagged me about going pro. Then we went out and gossiped a bit. Then he got hit on, so I left him to it."

"Hmm."

"He thinks you're neglecting me." Niou felt Yagyuu's hand pause, and shrugged without glancing around. "I couldn't explain where you were, but it was kind of obvious you'd gone off at short notice. And even you're not likely to be studying on a Sunday evening."

"I suppose not."

Niou sat up. " _Can_ I ask what you were doing? I don't mind if you can't tell me, but I'd like to be able to ask without it pissing you off."

"Actually I spent most of the night patching up injuries. Including a rather nasty bullet wound I was utterly out of my depth on dealing with."

"Oh."

"Still, better I dealt with it than that the alternative: his friends wanted to yank it out themselves. At least I know how to sterilise my equipment."

"Ah." Niou pulled his knees up to his chest. "I guess that sort of thing they're never going to give you much notice about."

"No." Yagyuu still looked grim. "And I can't in all honesty refuse to assist; these are still people, even if some of them are repellent scumbags."

Niou nodded. "Mmm. Well, damn, now I'm going to have a harder time resenting their calls."

"I still resent it, Niou-kun. They provoke most of their feuds; none of this violence is unavoidable."

They watched the rest of the film quietly; Niou'd rather lost the thread of the plot but he didn't have the energy to rewind it, especially once it occurred to him that maybe making Yagyuu watch gory horror movies wasn't really the kindest thing he could do right now. He made dinner afterwards; Yagyuu's cooking was better but Yagyuu was dozing in their little nest and didn't seem inclined to move.

He didn't really think of himself as someone who worried a lot. But he seemed to be spending too much time fretting about Yagyuu right now; at first because he was worried about the violence and now because, well. If Niou had to engineer a reason for Yagyuu to get invested in a group of people who weren't his teammates, then having to patch them up repeatedly would probably be top of his list. Yagyuu's father had done a great job of impressing on Yagyuu how important an obligation it was to heal people, how everyone deserved good health.

He'd snorted a little to himself over that particular comment -- Yagyuu's father got paid to heal rich people, after all -- until Yagyuu'd offhandedly mentioned helping his father out at free clinics every so often; apparently the man lived what he preached, and Niou had revised his opinion upwards accordingly.

So now he was worrying that Yagyuu would start to feel responsible, that he had an obligation to help. That he'd bond with his patients, and then Niou'd never peel him away from the yakuza. He was also wondering if Yagyuu was going to burn out, juggling all these pressures; the occasional all-nighter wasn't going to kill him, true, but what if they got involved in a serious feud and needed him more often?

Concern made him feel sort of tender, and after dinner he very deliberately pushed Yagyuu down onto the cushions. Yagyuu went intriguingly non-verbal and languid as Niou pushed into him, and Niou kept the pace as unhurried as he could manage. He found himself murmuring words he wasn't quite sure he meant yet, and smothered them against Yagyuu's skin.

Yagyuu smiled softly at him afterwards, as Niou rearranged the bedding so that they weren't lying on anything so damp or sticky.

"If a good game of tennis makes you this intense a whole day later, I'm really going to start regretting not jumping you in high school."

"Oh, that was all you." Niou grinned, and pulled the blanket back over them. "Don't start blaming tennis for how hot I think you are."

Yagyuu curled up against him. "I'm very, very glad."

He had a very fond expression on his face, and Niou's throat tightened a little. Screw all this aloofness and joking; he wanted to know what was going on in Yagyuu's head.

"Alright, c'mon, lay the sappiness on me. I can tell you want to."

Yagyuu laughed. "Meaning it's okay for me to tell you I like you? As in, _really_ like you."

"Yeah?" Niou brought up a hand to his hair, and fluffed it up in a mimicry of preening. "Well, I am gorgeous, I guess."

"Certainly from my perspective, you're pretty attractive, yeah." Yagyuu smiled at him, his fingers tracing patterns on Niou's shoulder. "How jumpy would you feel if -- hypothetically -- I started using words like _always_?"

"Oof." That was the sentiment he'd been muttering -- hopefully indistinctly -- against Yagyuu's spine and shoulders earlier. "Not as jumpy as you might think?"

Yagyuu moved his hand so it was resting over Niou's heart. "Good."

"Hnf." Niou stared up at the ceiling, trying to put words to his thoughts. "S'weird. It doesn't feel like when I fell in love with Aoi."

He could feel Yagyuu twitch, as if repressing a reaction, and he sighed, realising how his sentence had sounded. "Hey, I don't mean I don't -- it's just, this feels different."

"How?"

Niou thought. "Well, okay, you remember Aoi, right? I was so goddamned crazy about her, and I wanted to know everything about her, and with everything I found out it was like more reason to love. With you, I know most things already -- so it's more like I'm just sort of letting myself look at you the right way."

That seemed to mollify Yagyuu, who made an amused noise. "Hm, alright. I suppose that's accurate for me too; noticing the things that attract me more and not minding the things that don't."

"Wait, there's parts of me that don't attract you?" Niou asked mock-indignantly.

Yagyuu gave him a long-suffering look. "Mm. But you make up for it, mostly. I'm pretty smitten now, I think, if that's what you're asking."

"Yeah, I think I am too." Niou turned so he was facing Yagyuu, who made a faint noise of protest at being dislodged from Niou's shoulder. "I wish I could stop worrying, though. Even if you tell me you'll be safe. Fuck, I'm turning into my mother."

Yagyuu snorted. "No, you're really not. I promise."

"Mm."

"Your mother is a great cook, for a start."

"And _someone's_ just volunteered to be in charge of meals forever."

"Seriously, your concern is appreciated but mostly unwarranted. Think about it this way: I'm useful to them, alive and whole. If I get injured, I will be less effective -- both as a doctor and as someone who can negotiate deals."

"So they'll protect you, you think? You can't possibly believe that."

Yagyuu smiled, faintly, tucked into the crook of Niou's shoulder. "Worth a try."

Niou bit his ear, eliciting a mild yelp. "No lying, remember?"

"It wasn't really a lie, just a theory. Ow."

"Close enough. You know, it's not actually funny to know you're so willing to make up excuses to stay with them."

Yagyuu made a muffled noise, then lifted his head. "I don't really have a choice, like I say. I'm not running away."

"We'll see." At some point, thought Niou, there was going to be an argument over Yagyuu's definition of 'running away'. Right now, though, he just wanted to bask in the moment.


	4. Chapter 4

It was surprisingly easy to fall into a routine. University work during the day, lazy evenings and weekends where _sometimes_ they'd manage to see other friends, and then every so often Yagyuu would get a message or a phone call and have to cancel their plans.

Niou was absurdly tempted a few times to throw a snit every time Yagyuu had to go running off. Still, it _did_ mean Niou actually spent some time with his coursemates, which was probably better than turning into a complete codependent hermit. It didn't make him much less resentful to be aware of that, though.

Things got awkward after the holidays; they both decided to stay in Tokyo, which meant that Yagyuu's parents -- after some discussion -- elected to come stay with them for a while just after the break, while Yagyuu's sister visited cousins in Kyushu. Yagyuu's parents slept in Yagyuu's room -- Yagyuu's more potentially _disturbing_ possessions having been carefully removed from it -- and Yagyuu slept, theoretically at least, on a futon on Niou's floor.

On the second day, Niou made polite conversation about his schoolwork with Yagyuu's father while Yagyuu's mother helped Yagyuu cook. It was rather pleasant; Niou genuinely liked Yagyuu's parents, and they'd always been absurdly kind to him, even when he'd turned up at 3am four days in a row after a series of shouting matches with his mother. Yagyuu's phone rang, suddenly, and he excused himself to take the call.

A few minutes later, Yagyuu stuck his head out of the door of his bedroom. "Niou-kun? Can I have a moment?"

Niou blinked, and joined Yagyuu, who closed the door behind him.

"Well," said Yagyuu, "I have a dilemma."

"You do?"

"I need to take a phone call in about three hours, non-negotiably. But my parents made plans and..."

"You need me to take the call for you, don't you."

Yagyuu looked relieved. "I'll leave you my phone. I know you can imitate my voice; you just need to write down their instructions for me -- it'll just be a time and a place, mostly likely -- and say thank you and hang up. Is that okay?"

Niou sighed, and leant back against the closed door. "Yeah. I said I'd help you if you needed me to, and I will."

Yagyuu stepped in close, and cupped Niou's face. "I don't deserve you."

"Make it up to me later, then." Niou let Yagyuu kiss him gently, and then grinned and headed back out of the door. "Yeah," he said over his shoulder for the benefit of the listening parents, "that's fine then, I'll call the landlord tomorrow and mention it."

Yagyuu's father raised a curious eyebrow as Niou slouched back into the seat.

"Oh, we have a list of things we'd like looked at, that's all. You noticed the broken shelf, right?"

Yagyuu set his phone on the table next to Niou on the way back to the kitchen, and Niou knocked it onto the floor and then let it end up under his cushion as they all ate dinner together, sitting seiza around the coffee table.

It rang, as Yagyuu had said it would, about an hour after Niou'd been left alone. "Moshi-moshi," he said, in as neutral and bland a Yagyuu-voice as he could muster.

"Ah, Yagyuu-kun." The voice on the other end of the line coughed. "There'll be someone to meet you tomorrow, 4pm, in the reception of the usual hospital. He'll be calling himself Tobihashi."

Niou scribbled on his pad. "I understand."

"Excellent. Now," and the voice dipped lower, quieter, "you'll be taking a walk somewhere a little _unsavory_. Is that clear?"

"Very well." Niou guessed that meant 'you'll need your gun'. "Anything else?"

"No, that's all. Report when you've completed the job."

Niou waited until the line went dead before hanging up, just in case. Then he heaved out a sigh and stretched; his shoulders ached from how much he'd tensed up for that conversation. As Yagyuu had said: a name, a time and a place, that was all he'd gotten.

Yagyuu's parents were rather grumpy at their son's sudden unexpected additional seminar commitment. Niou was _extremely_ grumpy that apparently his involvement wasn't allowed to stop at just answering the phone for Yagyuu; Yagyuu's schedule was awkwardly full that day, and his university did occasional bag checks, and it seemed risky to just spend the whole day armed. He asked Niou for just one more favour, since his schedule was less hectic.

Niou -- more freaked out than he'd ever like to admit -- carried the gun from their apartment to the hospital that afternoon, buried deep in a rucksack, and handed it over to Yagyuu in the hospital lobby a little before the alloted time. Niou was half-tempted to hang out and see this Tobihashi for himself, but Yagyuu ushered him so firmly towards the exit that spying on the meeting would have required more sneakiness than he felt up to right then.

Yagyuu hauled him aside a few days later, to ask him to take another phone call, and Niou rolled his eyes so hard it nearly hurt.

"Shit, c'mon, can't they leave you alone over the holidays?"

"You know it doesn't work like that. Please, Masaharu. If my parents weren't here, I wouldn't ask."

Niou sighed. "You're lucky I love them nearly as much as you. Right. When do you need it?"

He answered the phone politely at the specific time that evening.

"Ah, Hiro-chan, how I've missed you." The silky, unexpectedly female voice on the other end of the line gave an amused laugh. "But you don't need to be quite so polite, darling."

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of being impolite to you," he managed, through his surprise.

"Of course you wouldn't. Well, such politeness has to be rewarded, and you're in luck, my pretty thing. You've just been promoted to hitman."

Niou felt his throat tighten in horror, and forced his voice down into Yagyuu's baritone as he said, "That's unexpected."

"Isn't it? Actually, darling," and the voice dropped into a purr, "perhaps _assassin_ is a better term. Poison seems so much more suitable for you, and you wouldn't want _too_ much fuss, now."

Niou made a noncommittal noise, uncertain he could manage _any_ words at the moment.

"Well then, let's see." The speaker seemed to shed her amusement for a moment. "Your target will be Sano-san. Remember him? He's at NTT, in a private room, recovering from surgery. I'd like his condition to be critical by the end of next week."

"I understand." Niou wondered if he was expected to ask follow-up questions, or to protest, or to ask what his compensation would be, or _anything_. "May I call you later if I need clarification?" he asked, instead.

"You may call me any time you like, Hiro-chan." The speaker laughed silkily again. "Adieu, my dear."

The line went dead, and Niou closed the phone, reaching automatically for the pen and paper on the desk. _Sano. NTT. Next week. Critical condition._

Well. _That voice_ had been the assured voice of someone who expected unquestioning obedience.

It reminded him a little of Yukimura, actually.

He tapped the pen against his mouth. His _first_ instinct was to tell Yagyuu that he could _fuck_ any plan to complete his degree, they were getting the hell out of Tokyo. But… shit, he didn't know if Yagyuu would actually leave. He didn't know if getting out would even be possible; maybe these guys would be keeping an eye on Yagyuu now they'd asked him to do something this hardcore. And he had no idea how far away would be far enough if they did run.

Shit, he didn't know if Yagyuu wouldn't just _do_ as he'd been asked.

He slipped the top note into his pocket, and wrote down _#16, Paris Fashion Hotel, Dōgen-zaka, Friday 8:30_. He hoped that would look plausible; he'd overheard hotel names a few times before when Yagyuu'd answered the phone.

Within about half an hour, he'd torn _that_ note off and crumpled it into the bin, because _what the hell_. There'd be no way that there wouldn't be repercussions if Sano-san was healthy and perky at the end of next week. Just pretending the task didn't exist was a route to getting Yagyuu into serious shit with this mysterious woman. And the obvious alternative was ridiculous: did he think he could do it to spare Yagyuu the task? He had none of Yagyuu's connections, none of Yagyuu's medical knowledge. Not to mention, god, this wasn't messing around, it was _killing_ someone. His brain skidded off the word a few times before coming back to it: _murder_.

He managed to fake cheery interest in the concert the Yagyuu family had been to for as long as it took for Yagyuu's parents to head to bed, even though it made his face ache. In the bedroom afterwards, Yagyuu stared as Niou stuffed a pillow against the crack under the base of the door.

"Sound-proofing," Niou explained in a lowered voice, and held out the piece of paper. "Because you're going to have questions."

Yagyuu read the paper, and his mouth went very tight and serious.

"So yeah, that's a request, not a statement." Niou sat down heavily on his bed. "The woman with the sexy voice? She called it a promotion."

Yagyuu sat on the edge of the cabinet, and took his glasses off, throwing them onto the desk. "Anything else?"

"He's recovering from surgery. Private room. She thought poison would be least fussy."

" _Wonderful_." Yagyuu rubbed his forehead, his eyes pinched shut. "Fuck, I _swear_ , I _promise_ you, I am not a, a--"

"--assassin? Yeah, I got that this was new." Niou leant backwards and rested his weight on his hands. "So, what now?"

Yagyuu shook his head. "I… I have no idea." He stared at Niou. "She didn't realise you weren't me?"

"Don't think so." Niou snorted a quiet laugh. " _Hiro-chan_."

Yagyuu sighed, and then shifted over and sat down on the bed next to Niou. "You've had longer to take this in than I have. What are my options?"

"Do it. Don't do it. Complicated variants on those." Niou shrugged. "Running away, lying, tricking someone else into doing it, praying it happens by act of god, that sort of thing."

Yagyuu started unbuttoning his shirt, his face set in a frown.

Niou watched Yagyuu's fingers. " _Could_ you, hypothetically? I mean, can you make it look like an accident, like he's died from something going wrong with the surgery."

Yagyuu pulled his shirt off. "It depends what his procedure was. And it'd be difficult, since I've no actual reason to be at NTT. But assuming I could get access, administer him the wrong dosage or drug, then yes, without a doubt. The hospital could investigate the death, might discover it was due to malpractice, but they'd likely also do their best not to let that knowledge become public unless they had to." Yagyuu's mouth tugged upwards at the corners for a moment. "It's easier to kill a man in a hospital bed than on the street, I suspect."

Niou shuddered.

"But Sano-san -- he's important. It's a old-fashioned, honorable group he's part of. He'll be guarded; there'll be members on the hospital staff, or he wouldn't be there at all. And they'll be the die-for-him sort of loyal, too." Yagyuu rubbed at his face again. "No, you made a good suggestion before: if I was going to do this, I'd have to go through someone who works there."

Niou gave Yagyuu a skeptical look. "What, and force them to do your dirty work?"

"Yes." Yagyuu undid his watch and set it on the side. "Bribery or blackmail, I suppose." He mirrored Niou's pose, his arms stretched out behind him, his weight resting on his hands. "The key word is _if_."

"I can't decide for you."

"I know."

Niou stretched. "Shit. I can't believe you're so calm about this."

"Mm." Yagyuu's eyes were distant. "I don't think that panicking is going to help. Right now, we need to be calm. My parents are here until Thursday, and we have class tomorrow, and my parents want to take us both out for dinner afterwards. Do you think you can sleep?"

"I guess I'd better fucking _try_."

Yagyuu kissed him, slowly and softly, but the grip of his hand on the back of Niou's head was almost painful.

"Nnn," Niou muttered, when Yagyuu broke the kiss and started mouthing at his neck instead. " _Seriously_ your parents are only a couple of rooms away."

Yagyuu's hand went to Niou's zipper. "Then you'll have to be quiet."

Niou had to admit that he felt a lot more _physically_ relaxed after Yagyuu'd sucked him off, and he lay there in a pleasantly over-sensitive and distracted daze while Yagyuu curled against his back and slowly fucked the gap between Niou's thighs, his mouth pressed hard against Niou's shoulder. Sex seemed to be a great solution for Yagyuu; _he_ was asleep fairly soon after they cleaned up, looking surprisingly peaceful.

But for all the bonelessness that orgasm bestowed, Niou's brain wouldn't stop churning. He _hated_ that he had no idea what decision Yagyuu was going to make. If it was him making this choice… well. It wasn't him, so that wasn't a useful thought. And he'd kind of promised that he'd help no matter what, even if Yagyuu hurt someone. He turned, and yanked the pillow down further under his head, furious with everything. Could he have said no on Yagyuu's behalf? Yagyuu hadn't indicated that he'd thought that was an option, but maybe if Niou'd talked fast enough, maybe if he'd flirted back at the woman with the sexy voice, maybe he could have persuaded her that Yagyuu didn't want her fucking _promotion_. Unless he did, and this reluctance was all another stupid lie of some sort.

Maybe Yagyuu would do it, and then would lie to him, to _protect_ him. That thought nagged away at him for _ages_.

Yagyuu's arm slid around his waist from behind, eventually. "Still awake?" His voice was bleary, sleep-mazed.

"Yes."

"I'm very sorry you got dragged into this."

"What did I say about apologising?"

"Mm." Yagyuu shifted, pressing up against Niou's back. "Special circumstances."

"I don't want you to do it." Niou's voice, even to himself, sounded very small and tight in the darkness. It hurt to admit it, to be that _raw_ about it. "It won't be a one-off if you do. Even if you did it by proxy now, one day you'd pull the trigger yourself. I'd rather run."

Yagyuu pressed a kiss to the back of his neck, soft and dry and not even faintly reassuring. "I'll call her."

"Is it going to make any difference?"

"I'm not sure." Yagyuu's hand left his waist, and then he started finger-combing Niou's hair. "Maybe if she thinks I'm too scared or incompetent. Maybe if I tell her I don't have access there."

Niou let his eyes drift shut, focusing on the sensation of fingertips on his scalp. "Maybe."

Yagyuu's lips pressed against his neck again. "I'll beg if I have to."

"Good."

Yagyuu paused in his head-scritching. "And. Perhaps you should look up apartments in Naha tomorrow, if you get a chance. Just in case."

Niou swallowed hard, and turned, letting Yagyuu catch his mouth in a brief kiss before he buried his face in Yagyuu's shoulder. Yagyuu kept his hands moving through Niou's hair for a while, then seemed to have fallen asleep again, his breathing soft and even. Niou tried not to resent him for it.

Yagyuu's parents were early risers, which ordinarily was a pain in the ass but right now meant that Niou could pretend to have gotten woken up by them. Anything to explain why he looked so tired. He gulped down coffee until his stomach felt swollen; his guts would churn later but at least he'd be able to get through his lectures. Yagyuu gave him a concerned look before they left, and reminded them that his parents wanted them all to go for dinner that evening.

Somehow, Niou made it through until Thursday evening on a combination of adrenalin and coffee and determinedly _not thinking about it_. His cheerful front nearly collapsed when Yagyuu's mother tried to tuck some money into his hand as they made their goodbyes -- she'd been doing that for years, ever since high school, and it'd become a ritual for her to do that and for him to sneak it back into her purse or pocket before she left. Somehow the gesture was so familiar and fond that it made his heart ache; fuck, if they _ran_ , really ran, he might never see Yagyuu's parents again. He might never see his _own_ parents again.

Yagyuu shut himself in his room when he got back from seeing his parents off, to call that woman and try to get her to change her mind. Niou plastered himself against the door to eavesdrop, not actually giving a crap if Yagyuu knew he was there.

"I understand, Hitomi-sama, but I would like you to reconsider--" Niou heard Yagyuu say, before the sound became too muffled. Niou did his best, but couldn't make out more than the sound of Yagyuu speaking quickly in a low, indecipherable tone.

Yagyuu opened the door after a while. "Well," he said, wearily, not even looking slightly surprised at seeing Niou there. "I'm not sure that improved matters."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that _not_ doing it is certainly an option, but..."

Niou kicked the doorframe, because it was that or kick _Yagyuu_. "For fuck's sake, _spill_."

"Naha's looking more and more tempting, put it that way. Though it's not nearly far enough."

Getting released from the responsibility was possible, it turned out. But it had caveats.

"They'll regard it as a breach of trust, as a personal failing." Yagyuu took a gulp of the beer Niou'd decided was definitely needed _right now_. "And they'll want me to prove my loyalty somehow."

"Meaning?"

"I have no idea. Could be anything. It was definitely a threat." Yagyuu took another swig, and then seemed to realise what he was doing and set the can down with a look of mild disgust. "I imagine they'll ask me to be on permanent call with minimal notice; maybe to live with them to make that easier. Beyond that, I -- look, they're _vicious_. You know how, in the stories, there were things that yakuza wouldn't do because it wasn't respectable, because they were a family? These guys don't have those boundaries."

Niou put his hand on top of Yagyuu's. "If we leave Tokyo, what happens to your father? Would they still trash his reputation?"

Yagyuu stared through him for a moment. "I don't know. Presumably." He blinked. "We're not running."

Niou tipped his head back in frustration. "For _fuck's_ sake."

"I want my life to be my own. And that means not letting them scare us away--"

"If you kill him, do you think it'll stop there? That they won't ask you to do it again?" Niou glared at Yagyuu. "Like a one-off _test_ before they stop hassling you? Like _honorable_ people might?"

Yagyuu's mouth tightened into an angry line, and he shook his head, reluctantly.

" _Exactly_. I figure they'll hold the murder over you, use it to threaten you into what they want anyway." Niou picked up Yagyuu's can. "So doing it won't make any difference. You're _screwed_ either way. You were since you first said yes, I guess."

"They'll kill him anyway, you know." Yagyuu's eyes had gone distant. "Someone will do it."

" _Really_ not the point."

"Isn't it?" Yagyuu's mouth twisted, in an unsettling nearly-smile. "Does it matter what I do, since he's doomed anyway?"

Something clicked in the back of Niou's head, and he grinned at Yagyuu suddenly. "Actually. Yes. It _does_."

"...enlighten me, Niou-kun?"


	5. Chapter 5

Niou peered down into the main parlour. It wasn't that difficult to stay hidden, up here on the tiny balcony tucked under the eaves, but if he got caught it'd be a pain in the ass to explain himself away.

Hana-san. Kiro-san. Saito-san. Niou quietly tucked away the names into his memory, and craned his neck as Saito-san leant forward for a moment. An inking ritual was taking place; the recipient was lying propped up on cushions on the floor, while the tattoo artist knelt at his side. Bamboo needles, not steel, Niou noted idly. Full traditional procedure, then. The three witnesses had their yukatas worn off their shoulders to show their own array of tattoos; there was barely a hint of unmarked flesh on any of them from neck to waist.

Saito-san refilled the sake cups in front of the other two witnesses for the ritual, and then set the bottle back in front of the guy being tattooed. Niou squinted down at the artist; he vaguely thought he recognised him. That was interesting. That meant the artist was prestigious, most likely, and that spoke of status and honour and all sorts of _useful_ things. The tattoo itself was just an indistinct cluster of lines so far. He settled down to watch, as comfortably as he could while wedged up here; if the techniques were this formal, it would take hours before this session was done, and the piece wouldn't be complete until several sessions were done. But he'd watch as much as possible.

The recipient clenched his jaw at the next needle insertion. Niou winced in sympathy; it was a wide chest tattoo, and something about the idea of needles and breastbone in close contact made his teeth ache. Another tattoo sprawled across the man's lower ribcage, and there was yet another snaking down his upper arm. He'd clearly spent a fair amount of time under the tattooist's needles already. It'd still take a long time more until his torso looked like those of the witnesses. _Rather him than me_ , Niou thought, and then immediately felt guilty, and then squashed the train of thought entirely.

Fifty minutes later, and he was re-evaluating the whole idea of watching. Really, all he needed to know was the names of the people there. He didn't _have_ to watch the whole process, needle by painstaking needle, crushed into the tiny balcony that he'd wager most of the witnesses didn't even remember existed.

And then Yagyuu clenched his jaw again in response to the pain, and Niou bit his tongue on a curse.

Sano had been a tricky negotiator, when they'd finally taken their proposal to him. All they'd initially been prepared to bargain with was information. Admittedly, it hadn't been that hard to get the information they were offering. Niou'd charmed one of the lonely old women in a nearby private room into thinking he was a dutiful relative; using that as a base, he could keep tabs on who was coming and going nearby. That, plus a little flirting with the nurses, got him the names of a few candidates. Yagyuu handled it from there on; he asked questions around the hospital and around some of his contacts, and they tracked down both the replacement assassin and the methods she was planning on using. There were all kinds of intriguing ways you could mess with medication; there were even more intriguing things you could do if you were in charge of someone's physical therapy regime. Sano was screwed unless he put a stop to several different sabotage methods that were in place.

Sano had thanked them for informing him there'd be an attempt. He wasn't grateful enough to offer them protection in return, though, even in exchange for the the data they had. Even if they snared the assassin and brought her to him, it wouldn't suffice; Hitomi-sama's syndicate was not one he wished to anger, and now he knew there was an attempt, he was confident he'd be able to prevent any issues himself.

And so, they'd bargained. Yagyuu had offered to provide his services to Sano's syndicate -- a traditional syndicate was still a step up from the ruthless bastards that answered to Hitomi-san, he'd said, when he and Niou had discussed this beforehand -- and had been coldly informed that firstly, theirs was a family not a syndicate, and secondly, Sano didn't regard someone who'd betray their kumicho the way Yagyuu had as a good prospect. Even when Yagyuu made noises about how assassination was dishonorable, by way of justification. He was sure Yagyuu was an asset, but he couldn't trust him.

Sano had, instead, expressed an interest in what _Niou_ might be capable of.

In the room below, the tattooist had paused, and was asking Yagyuu a question. Niou strained to hear; he couldn't quite make out Yagyuu's answer, though it made the witnesses chuckle in approval before the tattooist nodded and bent back over Yagyuu with another carefully-selected needle. The basic pattern was starting to take shape now; masks and blades and ribbons, spiralling out from Yagyuu's heart.

Apparently Niou hadn't quite managed to escape Sano's attention when he'd been lurking around, but his alibi had passed scrutiny when his people had asked around. _That_ , considering Niou's distinctive appearance, was rather interesting to Sano, and his interest rose when Yagyuu said that Niou wasn't working for Yagyuu's syndicate and was just helping Yagyuu out of personal loyalty.

There'd been a counter-offer then, and another, and more negotiation, and then finally a _test_ that had been about as nerve-wracking as carrying a gun through the streets of Tokyo had been. And Niou had passed -- he'd talked to the right people, insinuated his way to the right place, obtained the correct information. It hadn't even been particularly _hard_ , in retrospect -- Sano had wanted to test for competence, not excellence -- but the terrifying thing was the idea that if he failed, the only option they had left was to run.

Technically, Niou wasn't up here in the eaves, spying on Yagyuu's irezumi session. _Technically_ , Niou was the one down there, on the cushions, receiving his fifth tattoo and keeping up a manly facade to impress the witnesses. All of the witnesses thought it was Niou, at least.

And really, it wasn't a bad deal from Yagyuu's perspective, thought Niou. Yagyuu was otherwise a free agent, released from his syndicate and officially under protection from Niou's new _family_. He did occasionally get drawn into minor tasks -- minor medical advice, mostly -- but Niou was _almost_ certain Sano wouldn't permit there to be repercussions if Yagyuu actually refused to help. It hadn't been an issue, yet. Yagyuu would get to qualify as a doctor, without leaving Tokyo, and he was _almost_ free. Certainly a lot less involved than he'd been under Hitomi-sama's command.

Niou, on the other hand, was in service to Sano, indefinitely, though he had wrung some concessions out of the old man before agreeing to sign his life away. He was, technically, fully a member and Sano his _oyabun_ ; Niou had his initiation cup safely stashed at home and everything. But the old man had wanted him specifically for his trickery, which put him in an odd position. Yagyuu kept saying he was a _spy_ , and it wasn't far off; stealing trade secrets and business contacts from competitors was half of what Niou did for Sano. Effective _spies_ couldn't live openly as yakuza, Yagyuu had said, persuasively. And so: Niou was still enrolled in university; Niou would be given a cover job after university was over; Niou did not have to live with the rest of the _family_.

But certain aspects were hard to reconcile. Niou certainly needed to be able to pass for non-yakuza; what if a task required him to go to a ryokan or a hot spring? Makeup wouldn't work if he had to wash in public. And yet, _family_ did not refuse to undergo irezumi tattooing. It would be considered an insult.

Thankfully, as far as most of the family were concerned, _Niou_ hadn't refused.

After the first tattoo session -- on Yagyuu's ribcage, a lazy-eyed kitsune wreathed in smoke that Niou had since traced the lines of a thousand times, with eyes and hands and lips -- Niou had had some _serious_ doubts about their agreement with Sano, and if it was worth it. And every time he managed to sneak in to see Yagyuu undergoing the sessions, they resurfaced.

Yagyuu said it was worth the pain and inconvenience. Niou had given up his _life_ to get Yagyuu out of Hitomi-sama's clutches. All Yagyuu was giving up was his skin.

The thing is, thought Niou, was that if things got unbearable, _he_ could still run; if he ran far enough and fast enough, maybe out of Japan entirely, there was nothing about him that necessarily said _yakuza_. But Yagyuu -- it didn't matter that he wasn't _actually_ a member, his skin was bound to the lifestyle. That made running a _lot_ harder; Yagyuu could ooze all the respectability he was capable of, but if someone wanted to track him then tattoos made it a lot easier.

Niou wouldn't run without Yagyuu. And Yagyuu'd _better_ never try to run alone. For a start, it'd be _fucking_ impossible to explain why Niou suddenly had no tattoos at the occasional card games that Yagyuu reluctantly attended for appearance's sake. And since Niou's _other_ main task was to spy on people within the family, it helped for him to be -- occasionally -- so visibly _busy_. People did all sorts of fascinating things when the first lieutenant's lapdog couldn't possibly be around to catch them.

Sano entered the room, below. Niou watched as he loomed over the irezumi session, his face a picture of approval, and then his gaze flicked upwards. Niou fought down the urge to cower away or flinch -- any movement would draw attention to him -- but, well, shit, obviously Sano knew he'd snuck in like he always did. He resigned himself to being rebuked, but Sano wouldn't be too harsh on him over this.

Sano was, in fact, pretty damned decent as long as Niou didn't show him up in public. Thank _fuck_ , Sano actually found his inability to fall totally in line amusing. Niou couldn't abide those members who were all cringing and fawning obedience to their superiors. It was sickening, really. Sano valued Niou's ability to actually _think_ about what was being asked of him.

Sano's eyes met his, and narrowed briefly before he turned his attention back to the tattoo work, as casually dismissing his presence as if nothing of interest was up in the eaves.

Niou waited a full fifteen minutes after he'd left the room -- long enough that Kiro-san had left, replaced by Uema-san -- before he crawled out of his hiding spot, let himself out across the tiled roof, and padded quietly through the corridors to Sano's room.

" _Kobun_ ," said Sano, as soon as Niou'd slid the door closed behind him. "You know I will give you the names you need, even if your _colleague_ doesn't."

Niou knelt, scrunching his nose in annoyance. Sano knew what Yagyuu was to him. _Colleague_ was his way of not naming a relationship he found distasteful at best, and -- while the knowledge hadn't really made any difference to how he treated Niou -- that distaste included a certain amount reserved for Yagyuu himself. "That's not really why I'm there, sir."

"Ah." Sano gestured to the side-table. "Pour me a drink, child."

Niou did as instructed, wondering if he was going to get another lecture on loyalty and priorities.

"You still wish you could have spared him this," said Sano, instead, as he took the cup. "You wish you could have taken the burden entirely, freeing him from any trace of this life."

Niou folded his legs back underneath him as he took his place in front of Sano again. "Obviously."

"I was married once." Sano said. Niou nodded; this wasn't news. " _My_ oyabun did not approve, and then, later, she left me for a man who could give her the life she wanted."

"Forgive me for saying, sir, but my _colleague_ was part of this life before I was."

"True." Sano took a drink from the cup, and then handed it to Niou, who dutifully took a sip of his own. "And my wife would never have done as he does even now; he gives up a part of himself permanently for you."

"Yeah, I know. We're so fucking romantic it hurts."

Sano chuckled. "If you ever wish to terminate your relationship with him, it will not be--"

"Yes, yes." Niou placed the cup down between them. "Sir. Honestly, we're both selfish bastards, but we're also both _possessive_ bastards. I doubt he'd leave me, and I don't anticipate leaving him. If that changes, I'll inform you."

"Good." Sano picked up the cup again. "Are you going to watch every tattoo he receives?"

"Shouldn't I? They're _my_ tattoos."

"Ah."

"If you outright forbid me, I'll stop. Well, I'll conceal my observation better, anyway. But I think I owe the process enough respect to watch." Niou gave a wry grin. "He handles the pain better than I would, honestly."

"You think so?"

"I know. He's making me look _manly_ down there."

Sano's mouth curved up. "Duly noted. Very well then. Observe if you must, if it doesn't conflict with other tasks."

"Thank you, sir."

"Now get out before someone sees you."

\---

Yagyuu stood in front of the bathroom mirror, and Niou put his arms -- carefully -- around him from behind, in an embrace that was nearly as much about comfort for him as it was affection for Yagyuu.

"I like it," said Niou, brightly, when Yagyuu's eyes sought his. "It's actually pretty sexy."

Yagyuu raised an eyebrow at him, as he grabbed the lotion from the cupboard. "You always like them. I'm starting to question your discernment."

"Mm." Niou slid his arms down, so he could run a hand slowly across the kitsune. "Would you rather I hated them?"

"I'd rather not worry that you're going to go get one yourself, after all the effort I've made to keep your skin suitable for the onsen." Yagyuu pulled a cloth from under the sink, and handed it to Niou. "Here, make yourself useful."

Niou willingly set to carefully moisturizing the skin around the design. "I _am_ sorry."

"What, for this? Are we going to have this argument every time?" Yagyuu slid a hand into Niou's hair, tugging gently at it. "It's a little too late to change our minds, you know."

Niou let Yagyuu pull him in for a kiss, slow and fond, pressing his free hand flat against Yagyuu's ribs.

"When are they starting the colouring?" he asked, returning to his task. "Monday?"

"Yes. Is Sano sending you off elsewhere to take advantage of you having a decoy?"

"Probably, but I'll figure something out."

Yagyuu winced as Niou pressed a little harder than he'd intended to. "I'll be in exactly the same amount of pain without you lurking around, you know."

"And if someone catches on that you're not me? I'd rather be there if shit goes down." Niou smiled, and swiped lotion over the last looping line that crept down Yagyuu's right side. "How's that?"

Yagyuu stretched, the moistened skin catching the light and making it glisten in a distinctly unpleasant fashion. "It should be fine, thank you." He took the lotion back out of Niou's hand, and slid it back into the cupboard. "Are you hungry?"

"No, not especially." Niou threw the cloth into the sink. "I have to go out very soon anyway. I think you'll have to eat alone."

Yagyuu tilted his head to one side. "Still tracking Yoshida-san?"

"Afraid so. His mistress sent me a flirty summons; if I'm going to keep her convinced she's got me hooked and blind to her little games, I should probably go. Ugh. I'm going to have to spew romantic tripe at her all evening."

Yagyuu raised his hand to Niou's cheek, with a scowl so faint that Niou could almost believe he wasn't irritated. "If you _do_ have to sleep with her, I'll understand."

"She's so very not my type, believe me." Niou stretched. "But I'll keep it in mind as a last resort. Pillow talk feels like a cheap way to get information, though."

Yagyuu snorted, and withdrew his hand. "Well, _I_ am staying at home and sulking. I don't feel up to a shirt, tonight."

"I'll try not to be back too much after midnight."

In actual fact, he was back a little earlier than he'd expected; Yoshida's mistress had not needed much more in the way of alcohol and compliments before she'd admitted that she'd heard from her 'other' lover up in Sapporo. Yoshida had sent her love poems, she claimed, so Niou had reacted with the expected jealousy that her heart was not entirely his, trying to hide his delight. This was good news. If she had poems, then he'd have to sneak into her rooms, see if she had an address for Yoshida anywhere. Another time, however; it would be _very_ obvious if he started investigating that evening. He'd faked a phone call to allow him a reason to escape, after she started getting a little handsier than he liked. Funnily enough, the drunken moves made her rise in his estimation slightly; at least she was pragmatic. Yoshida might be romantic, but Niou was right there, after all.

Yagyuu was sprawled out on the sofa, asleep, when he got in, but he lifted his head blearily as Niou set down his blade -- he'd never had to use it and didn't really figure he'd ever need to, but Sano _and_ Yagyuu were both pretty insistent he carry it if he could -- on the table.

"Mmm, you're home."

"Yeah." Yagyuu shuffled over, and Niou slid into the space that made for him. "And mostly unmolested, too."

"Glad to hear it." Yagyuu curled against his side. "Give me a minute, and maybe a few vats of coffee, and I'll molest you all you like."

Niou grinned, and turned so he could rest his head on Yagyuu's shoulder, carefully avoiding the edge of the new tattoo. Fingers slid into his hair, tugging gently and scratching at his scalp.

"I wish," said Yagyuu, quietly, after a moment, "that we'd had a chance to be normal."

Niou sighed, and turned his head, letting Yagyuu's fingers creep upwards. "I've never been normal, thank you very much."

"Ah, yes, good point." Yagyuu's lips brushed the back of Niou's neck. "You know what I mean, however."

Niou tipped his head forward, encouragingly. "I do, but we were never going to get _that_. And hey, I had no real plans for after graduation anyway."

Yagyuu pressed a soft, open-mouthed kiss to Niou's nape. "I distinctly recall surfing in Okinawa being mentioned. You might have to go to the beach on your own, mind you."

"We could still go. Wetsuits cover a multitude of sins." Niou shifted backwards, pressing himself against Yagyuu more firmly, enjoying the shivers of arousal that Yagyuu's mouth was inducing. "I'm sure Sano'll give me a week off if I spin him an amusing enough line."

Yagyuu slid an arm around his waist. "I meant, more permanently than that."

"Oh." Niou bit his lip, and then turned, staring at Yagyuu. "You'd really go? After all this?"

" _After_ I graduate. Yes. Absolutely."

Niou poked Yagyuu in the centre of his chest, hard, making him wince. "Your family. Still an issue."

"My father will retire soon, I think. And I doubt my old syndicate would waste the time to ruin him now."

"And we still wouldn't be normal." Niou reached out, picked up his knife, and flipped it end-over-end. "We'd have to keep an eye on our backs all the time, and you _suck_ at using a gun, remember? And I can't carry this all the time."

"I'm just offering. If it gets too much..."

"I know." Niou flipped the knife in his hand again. "I'll tell you. I promise."

"Alright." Yagyuu nodded, and took the blade out of Niou's hand, setting it back on the table. "Don't leave it later than you need to, for the sake of my pain tolerance levels."

"Wimp."

Yagyuu smiled, wryly. "Absolutely."

"Now then, I believe you promised to molest me rather thoroughly." Niou said. "C'mon. Remind me why you're worth another couple of years of indentured service."

Yagyuu pinched him firmly on the ribs in response, but then slid his hands downwards and Niou rather effectively stopped thinking about _everything_ for the next hour or so.

He lay awake, later, with Yagyuu sprawled out next to him, one arm hooked around his waist in an amusingly possessive way. He stroked Yagyuu's arm, idly thinking about sunny beaches, and how _boring_ he suspected he'd find a normal life again now. Yagyuu'd been right. Niou _did_ enjoy the danger, enjoyed the thrill of his double-life more than was probably healthy. Maybe, when Yagyuu graduated, Niou'd work out some way to free Yagyuu entirely. Maybe he could cut a deal with Sano-san, figure out some way around the tattoo issue. But Niou himself… Niou rather thought he'd _stay_.

Or, just maybe, he'd talk Yagyuu into becoming a full member, so they could work together. He didn't think it'd be that hard, actually.

The two of them against everyone else? Fuck, people didn't stand a chance. Give it a few years, and they'd be _running_ the syndicate.

He patted Yagyuu's arm again, and smiled into the darkness. Just wait and see. They'd be _magnificent_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand finally it's done. Sorry for the horrible delay on this chapter; I had it plotted and mostly-written, but in the end I had to delete everything I'd written and start over again. :)


End file.
